One of a beekeeper’s worst nightmares
Realizing you have no queen in a colony you previously did is generally a bad day, but realizing it too late is a REALLY bad day. This post is all about how to spot a queenless colony early on.
The signs
- A hive with a queenless buzz (see this video I took of two hives in our apiary, one with a queen and one without.)https://youtube.com/shorts/eXek58roFKc?si=-meRtHkxbQPyfyf7
- No eggs during a time of brood rearing
- No larvae, also during a time of brood rearing
- Cells with multiple eggs in them (you probably have a laying worker, see this post for how to fix this situation and become queen right again.) https://agirlandherbees.com/how-to-save-a-hive-with-a-laying-worker/
- You repeatedly cannot find your queen, accompanied by the other signs
The good news is that you can follow normal queen introduction procedures to give them a new queen. You could also let them raise their own queen by giving them a frame with young larvae and eggs on it. They will choose a few larvae to develop into queen bees. Giving them a frame of brood also will boost their numbers when the older bees have begun to die off.
A queenless hive isn’t a death sentence to your hive, as long as you catch it early enough.